25 years ago: New students reminded of drinking law

As a new wave of students came to town, they were reminded of the new state law under which a person must have turned 19 before July 1 to legally drink beer with a 3.2 percent alcohol content. One ramification of the new law was that a number of students who had been able to drink legally the previous semester could not during the fall 1985 semester. Incoming students were also reminded that using an altered, borrowed or false ID was a Class B misdemeanor, with a maximum penalty of six months in jail plus a $1,000 fine.

A recent lightning storm had knocked out the power for about 1,500 people in Lawrence, according to KPL Gas Service. The storm was part of an unusually wet August, a “different year” according to KU meteorology professor Joe Eagleman. Lawrence had experienced 4.67 inches of rain by this date, already topping the month’s average rainfall of 4.20 inches.